Chapter 491 - Ultimate Move, Sound Nest Convection

At the same time, inside the gray manor, three commanders and numerous doctors from the Treatment Ward had just recovered from the thunderous explosion moments earlier.

Some had been stationed on the other side of the manor, so they merely rushed out of the building with bewildered expressions. Others crawled out from the rubble of the collapsed building, their faces covered in blood as totems flickered on their skin. Luckily, no one had died in the explosion. At most, they sustained minor injuries.

Since no one had dared to approach the man-made lake where Cassius had been meditating, the Treatment Ward personnel had not been present at the center of the steam explosion where the greatest force had erupted. At most, they had only been affected from a distance. They only thought an earthquake or some sort of attack had occurred.

However, a blaze in the sky immediately caught everyone's attention. That pillar of fire split the azure sky in half, shattering the thick clouds as though it were a flaming sword falling from the heavens.

It grew ever brighter, radiating a terrifying heat. At a glance, it looked as if there were two suns in the sky, one large and one small. As they looked upward, a sudden sense of cataclysmic doom and utter helplessness washed over them, causing the hairs on their bodies to stand on end.

"A meteorite!" Fog Man, dressed in a black cloak, raised his head solemnly and said, "Judging by its path, it seems like it's going to crash near the manor!"

"Damn it, why does it have to fall our way?" Nine-Serpent's hair, which coiled atop her head like venomous snakes, was swaying uneasily, evidently sensing the oppressive menace from above.

Whoosh!

A dreamlike, lightning-fast blur swept through the manor. Odo shattered the outer wall in his path and arrived at the courtyard by the man-made lake in an instant. He spotted Cassius, who stood calmly at the center of the blast site, with a single glance. His trench coat was billowing loudly in the fierce wind like a dark cloud.

"My lord, the mete—..." He had not finished the word "meteorite" before Cassius cut him off.

"Odo, take everyone from the Treatment Ward out of the manor as fast as you can. The farther you can get, the better... Run until you can't run anymore."

"What about you?" Odo rebutted.

"The meteorite is headed for me," Cassius said calmly, turning around. He glanced at the Book of the Devil in his hand.

It was interesting. Last time, the curse of misfortune had summoned a warplane that fell from the sky and exploded. This time, it wasn't going to act nice anymore, and simply sent a meteorite straight down.

Cassius had thought that the curse of misfortune would have reached its limit once he became an extreme combat artist. He had never expected that Anthony and the blonde girl were merely appetizers before the main course. And the main dish? It was this bright, blazing meteorite hurtling straight at him.

The path of the meteorite had already become abundantly clear. Perhaps it was giving him some time to prepare? Or perhaps it was for him to grieve his impending doom.

"Interesting. Very interesting. Incredibly interesting!" A sudden smile broke across Cassius's cold face, revealing a rare excitement.

It felt as though he had everything under his tyrannical control, but suddenly, an unexpected thing beyond his control emerged. The feeling of control slipping from his fingers fascinated Cassius. Part of it stemmed from his dark sense of humor, but even more so, it embodied how he practiced and interpreted the way of the Dominator Fist.

If nothing ever tried to break free or defy him, how could Cassius assert his absolute will? If the Book of the Devil tried to use a falling meteorite as an obstacle, then so be it! He intended to smash it into complete oblivion with his fists.

Huuu...

Cassius stood quietly on the only flat stretch of lawn, inhaling and exhaling deeply. Threads of spiraling air, visible to the naked eye, swirled into his nostrils. His chest expanded, and each of his sturdy ribs stood out like the spines of an opened umbrella. A profoundly dangerous aura slowly spread through the air.

Meanwhile, as soon as Odo received Cassius's instruction, he vanished on the spot, gathering the Treatment Ward staff to retreat as quickly as possible.

At the same time, on the edge of the courtyard where the wall had collapsed, Anthony and the blonde girl were too stunned to react further.

They could tell that the meteorite was surely going to crash down right atop the manor. Hence, they wanted to flee the area as quickly as possible. However, after battling each other so fiercely, they had exhausted themselves completely.

Moreover, their killing moves had clashed and resonated, amplifying their power tenfold. That steam-skeleton move was indeed formidable, but it had drained all their energy, including their stamina.

Then, both Anthony and the blonde girl had sustained severe internal injuries from the explosion's aftermath, leaving them weaker than ordinary individuals and forced to hobble like cripples.

Faced with the terrifying threat from above and their heightened sense of impending doom, they decided to set aside their grudges and support each other. They limped onward, staggering toward the exit. Yet clearly, they were already out of time.

Thus, after hobbling just a short distance, both Anthony and the blonde girl gave up. They collapsed to the ground in a heap, panting heavily as though utterly spent. They glanced at the meteorite overhead, then at the black-clad figure in the nearby courtyard, whose aura kept growing ever more intimidating.

They prayed the meteorite would suddenly change direction, while wondering what Cassius intended to do.

Whoosh!!!

The burning meteorite descended through the sky.

"It's over..."

"We're doomed!"

When they saw the meteorite's trajectory become ever clearer, Anthony and the blonde girl both fell into despair. It really was headed straight for the manor!

In the courtyard, a figure's body slowly swelled, tearing through his clothing.

A series of violet acupoints, gleaming with a diamond-like splendor, became visible on his skin, which was as tough as armor. A purple mist seemed to flow forth within those acupoints, gradually coating his body.

Cassius slowly spread his arms, assuming the opening stance of the Southern Dipper Sonic Snake Fist, his five fingers flexing like a viper's fangs. In recent days, he had been challenging combat artists in the Howling Canyon in the World of Calamity, feeling his foundation in Covert Martial Arts grow stronger with each battle.

He had even reached the point where he could combine Covert Martial Arts such as the Black Moon Eye King Technique and the Phantom Sound Fist to create the Illusory Moon Fist for Odo to test.

Of course, he had also continuously honed and improved his own fundamentals. Above all, Southern Dipper Sonic Snake Fist was his primary focus. Originally, the only killing move in Southern Dipper Sonic Snake Fist had been the Roaring Sonic Gun. Yet through Cassius's accumulation, innovation, and practical combat, he gradually perfected two more killing moves.

One was called the Constricting Star Python, a close-range arm-twisting technique that carried a terrifying ripping force. The other was known as the Crossed Sonic Howl, in which his crossed arms would slash out, unleashing powerful shockwaves. Its origin lay in the dual-sword style of some unknown undead being.

Thus, the Southern Dipper Sonic Snake Fist had become much like the Southern Dipper Red Falcon Fist.

He had completed three killing moves and shaped it into a cohesive combat system. Of course, the apex of that framework would be an ultimate move. For Southern Dipper Red Falcon Fist, its ultimate move was the Blood Vulture's Beak, which inflicted terrifying single-target damage through piercing and decomposition.

It was created by Blood Fist Feng Liusi, who had poured decades of expertise into it. Without a doubt, the Blood Vulture's Beak was perfectly aligned with Southern Dipper Red Falcon Fist as its ultimate move. Even if Cassius created another move, he would be unlikely to surpass it.

Hence, he devoted all his focus to Southern Dipper Sonic Snake Fist. He mostly used Southern Dipper Sonic Snake Fist to fight over a hundred skirmishes in the Howling Canyon.

Finally, after one especially grueling fight, everything quieted down, and there was a sense of immense loneliness. It was then that he heard the canyon's wailing. That wailing was actually the wind roaring through the canyon, colliding and grinding against the walls in an endless cycle of echoes.

He thought, if the wind behaved in such a way, then could sound, force, or explosive shockwaves do the same?

By confining everything within a sealed space, sound would continuously bounce back, forming echoes. Shockwaves would surge back and forth, layering upon each other. Though each wave would weaken, the overall effect would be ten or even dozens of times stronger than normal!

Reverberating Force could trigger blasts akin to explosions, and if that effect kept stacking... One blast, two blasts, a hundred blasts, a thousand blasts! If the shockwaves from those blasts, superimposed hundreds of times, would be confined in one space, it would destroy everything inside.

Who could endure that?!

It was like a room perpetually filled with echoes, an "audio nest" where sound would convulsively collide, generating a terrifying sonic shriek. Perhaps he could replace sound with force.

Thus, Cassius repeatedly tested a technique under the canyon's special conditions with Reverberating Force, adjusting his power bit by bit. Finally, not long ago, he fashioned the prototype of his own ultimate move of the Southern Dipper Sonic Snake Fist.

Though it was merely a prototype, it embodied at least eighty percent of his envisioned perfection, and the same could be said for its power.

Cassius named the move Sound Nest Convection!

Since it was still in the experimental stage, he had never used it on any object that posed a real threat to him. But wasn't the current situation ideal? A horrifying meteorite descending from the sky!

He would use Sound Nest Convection to obliterate this mighty force of nature! How exhilarating and satisfying would that be?

At the very least, Cassius was already trembling in excitement. His eyes turned a deep purple, exuding a cold, merciless holiness. He raised his hands toward the sky and his splayed fingers clustered like the uneven fangs of some ancient monster.

"All who dare obstruct my will would be reduced to wailing rubble!" He roared, but his voice soared in pitch.

The first word sent a tangible soundwave into the audio nest, triggering a frenzied turmoil of echoes. The second word produced a majestic and resonant echo. As the third and fourth words rang out, and all the way to the final syllable... The sound Cassius produced was layered upon itself countless times, like the roar of some demon in the depths of hell.

Boom! Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom...

Clusters of nearly visible shockwaves stacked upon each other like surging tides. The air rippled with faint white lines visible to the naked eye, like compact petals hanging in midair, frantically withering and regrowing.

The ground shook violently, and a house-sized crater opened in the courtyard. Meanwhile, a black figure shot straight into the sky. He seemed to ride upon a giant purple python that sprang from the earth like it had no end!

Several sonic booms echoed in quick succession through the air, leaving mushroom-shaped clouds of white vapor. Gazing from afar, one could only see a scorching blaze from the heavens colliding in midair with a towering violet pillar rising from the ground.

Buzz! Buzzzz...

Everyone present felt like they were going deaf as blood slowly oozed out of their ears. All of them winced in pain.

High above, at the epicenter of the collision...

"Sound Nest Convection!!!" Cassius's figure vanished as he was replaced by a terrifying ripple that spread madly outward.

It was a soundwave, a ripple of Qi, and more than that, it was Reverberating Force made visible! In an instant, every bit of Reverberating Force erupted from his body.

A torrent of energy raged through the space, devouring all in its path. It appeared chaotic, yet somehow it flowed in a concealed harmony. From above, one could see those wave-like streaks of Reverberating Force forming what looked like the scales of a python, spontaneously shaping a colossal sonic snake.

The sonic snake swam through the sea of ripples, reaching the far edge in the blink of an eye. Its body spun violently, corralling the entire sea of waves into a confined space. That was the audio nest that nurtured the convection!

In less than a heartbeat, the sonic snake coiled around the nest's perimeter, opening its mouth to spew Reverberating Force inside. Reverberating Force shot across to the other side of the serpent's body, only to bounce off its scales and return.

It repeated over and over at extremely high speed. The surrounding air rapidly fled, rushing away from the center.

Rumble!

The meteorite, carrying its terrible momentum from above, was enveloped by the audio nest.

In an instant, unimaginable collisions and detonations erupted from within. Wave upon wave of densely packed ripples crashed against the meteorite's surface, producing one shockwave after another.

They built up manically and reverberated in a vicious cycle.

Bang, bang, bang, bang... crack!

At last, a strange sound emerged from between the fierce impacts.

A long, narrow fissure abruptly appeared on the surface of the once-unbroken meteorite. It swiftly spread across every corner of that meteorite like a spider's web, encompassing the entire colossal stone.

Whoosh!

A black figure darted across atop the giant python, unleashing one final punch!

Boom!